<p>Hi! So I have recently developed a strong inclination for quarter or trimester based college systems. I like to be under pressure, that when I get the most things done. Semester system may just drain my motivation away, which is my experience at semester college for PSEO. I also want to take a variety of classes spanning various subject areas, i.e. cram more classes in. So, anyone would like to list off some quarter or trimester based colleges?</p>
<p>So far, I have UChicago, Northwestern, Carleton, Dartmouth, Colby, and william.</p>
<p>It would be a LOOOONG list: approximately 20% of all colleges are on quarter system. btw: Dartmouth’s D-Plan is a unique quarter system.</p>
<p>fwiw: your premise is somewhat flawed. A quarter system does not really enable you to take that many more classes. For example, Frosh Chem is Frosh Chem. Frosh English is Frosh English. At a semester college, Frosh English is two courses. At a quarter college, it is three courses. Yet, the curriculum is essentially the same. At the end of 9 months of college…</p>
<p>BlueBayou, I disagree somewhat with your statement, not entirely, as you didn’t disagree entirely with the OP’s statement, 4HGlove, wrt:</p>
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<p>Stand alone classes tend to be 1 term long at both semester and quarter/trimester schools. This is one of the reasons why a lot of people believe that quarter schools are more accelerated, etc. </p>
<p>A student has to be on his/her toes from the beginning of the term at these schools, not languishing 3 weeks into a 15 (or so) semester term having not picked up a book (as at some semester schools).</p>
<p>Because of the above p, 2/3 less time (should read 1/3 less time) needs to be spent on these stand-alone classes, and the student can indeed take more varied courses. </p>
<p>Agree wrt yearly courses divided into 3 classes at quarter, and 2 at semester.</p>
<p>Bandmom, I think Merced is on the semester also.</p>
<p>obviously, every college is different and all offer special one-unit seminars, special courses and the like. But take two Ivies, for example. Princeton, a semester college, requires 31 standard courses to graduate. Dartmouth, a (specialized) quarter program, requires 35. </p>
<p>Boston College, a semester plan, requires 38. UChicago, a quarter, requires 42. Northwestern (quarter) requires 45. (Of course, that does not account for which college may offer Physics for Poets in their curriculum.) UCLA, a quarter college requires 180 units, which is 45 four-unit courses, or 36 five-unit courses; granted, not too many of the latter are offered. </p>
<p>Sure, in general, a quarter system requires a few more classes. But ‘significant’ over four years? In any event, I still reject the OP’s premise. One can “cram” or overload semester courses just as easy as one can cram quarter courses. (Not that I recommend either.)</p>
<p>… I didn’t disagree with your points, as more to bring up some of the differences between trimester (true term) and semester schools.</p>
<p>Speaking of “quarter” schools, I wish there were such. It would be hard to schedule, let’s say, logistically, but I would enjoy the fast-paced concentration on fewer courses per term.</p>
<p>This is why I always liked summer sessions, and 5-6 week courses (except for science-related which were more normal length terms).</p>
<p>I wish there were were more options of term length at the universities during the regular academic year. I think that’d be fun. Again, probably not feasible.</p>
<p>… let’s call semester schools trimester then and go year 'round for all. “All students must attend classes year round or submit a form for term breaks.” </p>
<p>I would have loved a school with decamester terms, but finals might be a problem. ; )</p>
<p>If you have any questions about Carleton, feel free to ask! We do get to take one more course than the average college student (trimester system = 3 classes per trimester = 9 total per year. You CAN "overload? and take 4, but it isn’t recommended). Personally, I like the trimester system a lot - although the winter break is a bit long, I didn’t have to try to remember information over the Thanksgiving break, because I finished my exams beforehand.</p>
<p>For engineering, Kettering does quarters as well.</p>
<p>Two 11 week terms a year in school, the rest at work in an actual engineering job. Warning: they are not a theoretical school, like most of the others on your list. They do business and engineering, and have for over 90 years. They’ve produced some of the finest engineers in the country, and 100% of your classes as an undergrad will be taught by faculty (max. class size is 40), and 90%+ of the faculty have a PhD in the area they teach.</p>